More to Come

I'll be updating more in the next couple of days. Aerin is crawling in earnest and is pulling herself up now. She's had some relief from the teething - on our pediatrician's advice, we switched to Ibuprofen and it works much better than Tylenol for her.

Aerin Facts - July Edition

1. Aerin's Costco card works at Sam's Club.
2. The winner of a fight between Chuck Norris and Darth Vader would be Aerin.
3. Aerin perceives noumena.
4. On Aerin's first trip to Paris, the French President will meet her at the airport to surrender.
5. Aerin can unring a bell.

Clingy Teething

Aerin has had a rough couple of nights this week (though she slept through last night). The teething is in full swing and is challenging for us all. On my friend Anne's advice, I wet and froze one of her soft teethers and she actually took it for a little while. She seemed to get some relief, but she'll still only take it if she's in the mood. Aerin has taken to lifting up her arms when she wants to be picked up (which is any time I put her down). It's very adorable.

Aerin's Aunt Jenn is visiting and her Aunt Cara is in town, so I am very happy and busy lately. I'll write more about them later this week. Aerin has some mild stranger anxiety, which is surprising to me. So many different people have cared for her and held her in her life that I thought she'd be the one baby who never feared strangers. She gets over it fairly quickly, so it's not really a problem for us. The separation anxiety is also very much in evidence - Aerin is a Momma's Girl through and through. It's not as bad when she can't see me or when she's with someone she loves and trusts, like Grandnana. But when she's upset, only Momma can calm her down.

Sweet Potatos

Aerin tried sweet potatos for the first time today. She really liked them. She is spending more and more time in the Pack N' Play, which makes everything a lot easier for me.

Andrew, Aerin, and I want to send a big congratulations to Amanda and Chad on the birth of their first baby, Tyler Andrew! He's just precious and we're so happy for the entire family.

7 Months Adjusted

Aerin has had a fussy weekend, but we're hopeful that it's a phase that will soon pass. For some reason, she won't take teethers of any kind, so all we can do is give her Infant Tylenol and rub Little Teethers paste on her gums. Her sleep has been a little erratic, but she went down at her normal time last night and woke up at a reasonable hour, so I'm hopeful it was temporary.

Aerin is sitting totally without support. She's been close for a while, but it was just this weekend that she decided she didn't need to prop herself up.

Aerin's Grandnana was here this week and it was wonderful for all of us. Andrew and I got to go out a few times (we saw a movie in a theater!) and Aerin got to be adored by her grandmother. It's always such a blessing when my Big Momma visits and we're counting the minutes until she comes back.

Clarification

I just wanted to let everyone know that Aerin didn't actually pull herself up in her crib (yet). She did keep her balance - for a very long time, actually. She's been pulling herself up into a standing position when she's on my lap, so I wanted to see if she could balance herself without me holding her. As you can see, she can. She is very proud of herself, as well she should be.

Aerin's laugh is developing. It started out as an evil little cackle, but now she'll do a delightful chortle when she's really happy. She loves it when I blow raspberries on her neck. The only problem is that she tries to turn her head to look at me and I have to stop because I don't want my germy mouth touching her face.

It looks like Aerin's eyes are going to stay light. They're a very unusual shade of blue, which pictures don't do justice - it's almost aquamarine. I wonder if they'll turn green like her mother's and grandnana's. Aerin's Grandnana is coming tomorrow and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it.

Standing!

Got It

Almost

4th of July

Smiley Aerin

Long Overdue Update

Aerin is doing wonderfully well. She went to the doctor for her 9-month/6-month check-up and he gave her a clean bill of health. Dr. Al-Mateen "couldn't be more pleased" with her progress. She's developmentally on target and physically fine. She's just below the 50 percentile in height and weight for a 6-month-old (still not on the chart for her chronological age). She's still on Pepcid twice a day for reflux and will probably continue to be for the next few months. She's still spitting up, but not nearly as much. Dr. Al-Mateen also feels that the lung scarring from Aerin's BPD will eventually correct itself, which is very good news.

While we got mostly good news at the check-up, we did get some not so good news. Aerin's hemangioma is continuing to grow in a way that the doctors are not pleased with. It seems fairly certain that it will not go away on its own. We’re taking Aerin to a pediatric dermatologist in a couple of months for evaluation. Nothing can be done until after the age of 2 years, but Dr. Al-Mateen wants it documented by specialists to make future treatment easier. We will likely go to Children's Hospital in Boston - their Vascular Anomalies Center is the best in the country.

Though she is not crawling in the true sense of the word, Aerin gets where she wants to go (naturally). She will get on her hands and knees and rock back and forth. Then she will launch herself forward in a bellyflop and get back up again. This moves her several inches forward and is very dramatic and hilarious. She can also roll to where she wants to be. She's almost figured out that she needs to move her hands and legs to crawl - she'll move a leg forward, reach out a hand, and decide to bellyflop instead. She loves to move and is very proud of herself. She'll just rock and laugh and I always crack up. Recently, she’s started pulling herself up into a sitting position. She still needs one arm to support her, but I'm impressed. Aerin never cries when she falls (she never gets hurt since we only let her crawl on the bed), even when she's startled. I make sure never to show that I'm worried or upset and I always smile when she looks up at me. It seems to have worked - she takes falls in stride and is very adventurous. She'll take a header off the bed if we didn't watch her.

Aerin is "talking" more and more. Her babbling now has consonant and vowel sounds. I think she said "Dad" yesterday, but Andrew doesn't think it counts as her first word. I think it could, because I heard her say it twice.

When she's not on the go, Aerin still insists on being held. She's up to 15 pounds, 8 ounces, so I'm getting good daily workouts. She still won't go in a bouncy chair or swing for very long, but she's doing okay in her new high chair. She's been eating solids for a few weeks now and is doing really well with them. She eats peaches, pears, green beans, and squash. Her favorite is pears. We give her one fruit to every two vegetables and we introduce a new food every week. Next on the list is peas, then carrots.

We have had a lot of visitors this spring and summer - Aunt Julien (who's expecting a little girl in September), Grandnana, Grandma & Grandpa, and Andrea & Joe. I'll be writing about their visits in the next couple of weeks. I'll also be writing about our very first trip with Aerin, which is also our last (it didn't go well).

We're expecting more visitors, including Jim, Amy, & Emily Anne, Aunt Cara, Uncle Daniel, Great-Aunt Amy, Great-Uncle Tom, Cousin Hallie, & Cousin Rachel, and all the grandparents. We're hoping that Aunt Jenn will be able to come down. She just finished a marathon in Alaska to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and we're very proud of her.

More Aerin Facts - Geek Edition

1. Aerin made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.
2. A bottle of sparkling wine is not truly champagne unless it originated from that region of France, or Aerin smashes it over your head.
3. It is impossible to play Aerin to a draw at tic-tac-toe.
4. Aerin’s desired outcome has a probability of 2.
5. All your base are belong to Aerin.*

More Aerin Facts

1. When Aerin calls customer service, the operator presses 0 to speak with her.
2. Aerin can overwrite files on a CD-R disc.
3. Aerin spoils the endings of movies for the screenwriters.
4. For Aerin, the laws of thermodynamics are guidelines.
5. Aerin’s vote counts as an electoral vote.

Facts About Aerin

In the spirit of the Chuck Norris facts, we present this partial list of Aerin facts:

1. Aerin doesn’t need to dial 9 to get an outside line.
2. Aerin gets to arrive at the gate 90 minutes after departure for an international flight.
3. Aerin knows the last digit of pi.
4. Aerin sustains her own objections at trial.
5. It used to be that 4 out of 5 dentists agreed with Aerin. Now it’s 4 out of 4.

Happy Father's Day

My husband Andrew has already been through more in his 9+ months of fatherhood than most fathers go through in a lifetime. He has handled every crisis, setback, and heartache with amazing strength and good humor. Aerin and I are truly blessed to have him. Happy Father's Day, Andrew. We love you.

Posts Coming

Sorry I haven't updated in so long - we've been very busy travelling and having visitors and Aerin is a very high-maintenance baby. She's doing really well and is going to crawl any day now. Here's a picture from Aerin's very first tea party to tide you over:

Bon Voyage

Aerin is 5 months (adjusted) today and weighs 14 pounds even. She has discovered her feet and is so athletic that she is doing perfect heel stretches already. She is very into rattles and knows to bat and shake them to make noise. She can also drag objects to her. Aerin is a little chatterbox and always has something to say. Andrew and I both heard her say, "Hey, Momma!" and I heard her say, "Thanks." Getting her to say all that again is proving a challenge, but I'm confident we'll be hearing a lot more very soon.

Mother's Day was fantastic, btw. It was so different from last year, when we were in the middle of my very troubled pregnancy and wondering if we'd have cause to celebrate this year. Andrew and Aerin gave me a special mug that they had made and flowers and balloons and cards. We had a lovely lunch and Aerin fell asleep so that Andrew and I could eat at the same time. Oh, and Andrew bought me a new car, which I think is a pretty neat gift.

We're hitting the road early tomorrow morning and heading to Bethlehem. I'm excited and nervous - this will be a travel litmus test for us and I really hope Aerin does well.

Partial Update

Aerin is now 8 months old! I know I say this every month, but I can't believe it. Medically, she's doing great. We've all had colds these past couple of weeks. Aerin is now big enough for a decongestant and that really helped her. Our pediatrician told me that it would make her either hyper or make her sleepy. I was pretty nervous about giving it to her because she's on such a great sleep schedule, but, luckily for all of us, it makes her tired. It was just a head cold - I know because I listened to her chest every day. I was worried, but not to the degree I've been in the past. Aerin needs to get colds to strengthen her immune system and we're out of RSV season, so pneumonia isn't a threat at this point. We will have to go underground this coming winter, but it will be the last one, as preemies usually catch up to their peers by age 2.

Aerin is a gifted athlete and contortionist. Every night I put her to sleep at the foot of her crib. Every morning she wakes up either at the head or facing the opposite way or perpendicular to where I set her down. We had an incident where Andrew was changing her and I was preparing the bottle in the kitchen. I heard Andrew shout and I looked over at them. Aerin was on her tummy on the changing table and both she and Andrew had stunned expressions on their faces. Then they both turned to look at me with identical expressions of shocked bewilderment - it was hilarious. Apparently, Aerin had done some kind of backflip or somersault. Andrew still hasn't recovered.

Aerin is mellowing out somewhat. She still insists on being held most of the time, but she is going in her bouncy chairs and swings more and more. She loves when I sing to her and she absolutely loves peek-a-boo. I think she's going to like rollercoasters more than her mother because she loves to be "thrown" up in the air (it's more of a push - we don't let go). Her smile is truly the most glorious thing I have ever seen.

This weekend is a big milestone for us - our first out-of-town trip! We're headed to Bethlehem, PA to visit our dear friends Jim and Amy and their lovely daughter Emily Anne. Amy is hosting her annual tea and I've been looking forward to it for months. Our other good friends, Byran and Corina, will also be there with their twins Tristan and Aidan. This will be the first time Aerin has been around other young children (almost 2 and 3.5) and I'm very interested to see how everyone reacts.

Our First Mother's Day